Pawel Cibicki has been linked with a move to Legia Warsaw after he was spotted at their game last night, in the company of his agent.
Andrea Radrizzani has already announced that Leeds are looking to undertake a massive overhaul of the squad over the summer, and the club supposedly have a hit-list of 13 current squad members they are looking to move on. And it would be no surprise if Cibicki’s name was on that list.
Cibicki was one of the signings in last summer’s transfer window, arriving from Malmo on deadline day and signing a four-year contract. The 24-year-old had impressed Victor Orta with his performances in his native country, but he was soon to find out that football in the Championship is of a far higher standard than the Swedish league.
He took three months to make his league debut, though prior to that he did get a game at Burnley in the league cup. He was impressive in the 3-1 win at QPR on December 9, and went on to have a decent run of games either side of the festive season. But he soon found himself back out of favour once Thomas Christiansen had been replaced by Paul Heckinbottom.
Under the new head coach he didn’t manage to get a single minute of first team action, and was only included in the matchday squad on four occasions. And I can see why, as despite his occasional flashes of brilliance he has always looked decidedly lightweight in a physical division. And I’ve still not forgiven him for fluffing a good chance in the game at Ipswich, when it was still 0-0 and we still had 11 men on the field.
Pontus Jansson has spoken up for his fellow Swede, telling the Yorkshire Post "We won four or five matches when he started and he did well but later he didn’t play anymore. It’s the boring part of the football world with a lot of politics. I try to help Pawel every day and keep him in good mood. He deserves more but then I can understand the new coach who may not have seen Pawel so much.”
But despite Jansson sticking up for his compatriot, Cibicki has never convinced the rest of us that he’s worth a regular place in the side, especially when Leeds have several other options in the wide positions. And confirmation that he is out of favour came when he wasn’t included in the party for the controversial tour of Myanmar.
So it would make sense for Cibicki to start looking elsewhere, and for the rumour mill to start up after his attendance at Legia Warsaw’s 3-2 win over Wisla Plock. His name will tell you that he’s of Polish descent even though he’s represented Sweden at Under-21 level, and in fact his parents are both from that country.
The YEP say that Leeds have yet to receive any approach from Warsaw for the player, but a move would suit all parties, especially as Jansson’s comments indicate that Cibicki is frustrated at his lack of playing time at Elland Road. His wages might be a stumbling block, with three years of his contact still remaining, but it’s looking very likely that we’ve seen the last of Cibicki in a Leeds shirt.